To leave UK due to weather and cost of living

[Blossompink]

We are absolutely fed up of this constant cold, wet and dreary weather and are seriously thinking it's time to leave the UK. It's not just the weather which is making us miserable but also the cost of living is just ridiculous simply trying to keep the house warm and do simple tasks like drying clothes outside.

We are late 50's, no mortgage, have some savings, but would probably need to have an holiday let type set up to bring some money in or a small business.

AIBU to have had enough of life in the UK and want to move elsewhere?

@betsisherman Once you're over that 'tourist' euphoria and the power trip you get from the bravery of your decision, reality hits. Then comes home sickness and maybe even regret.

This is very, very true and most eloquently put. I've certainly been there. BUT I would add that when you are priced out of the UK and thus have absolutely no Plan B, you simply have to make it work. The early years are the worst in terms of finding your feet financially and professionally, and getting over bureaucratic hurdles. The only way is up, as we used to say in '97.

Have you got an EU passport? If not then you can't just move, unfortunately, Brexit.
I suppose you could stay in Europe 90 days out of 180 then go back to the sunny UK and then go to Europe again but that seems like a pain

Yes if you sell up it may mean you can’t keep up with property prices in the U.K., so be wary

How abouts Rowanda?

I feel much the same, but our plan is a motorhome. Planning to do 2-3 months in different parts of the UK, then 3 months in Europe over the winter.

I posted earlier that DH and I often threaten to leave, but can't figure out a way to make it work.

I just wanted to share that my sibling lives in Germany and has said that an average family home in the small town where they live costs 1 million Euros.
This shocked me - I was imagining socialist housing policies and affordable property. My point being, so many of the problems we're experiencing are also being experienced by the entire Western world.

I googled it and it seems quite a few! We don’t even make the top ten list. Makes me a feel a bit better at least 🤣
https://sleepopolis.com/blog/world-cities-ranked-by-average-annual-sunshine-hours/

My mate loved to Portugal a few years back and is loving it. Says the COL is waaay cheaper. But she has an online business so gets paid a UK salary.

We did this in our mid 40s and it was great. Lived in a rural community in sunnier climes, picking up language as we went along. We're back in the UK now for various reasons but spend as much time away as we can. Brexit has unfortunately made everything far more difficult and reduced our flexibility to come and go as we please. If we'd had a crystal ball we might never have made the move back but that's a whole other issue.

If I were you I wouldn't sell up and buy, I'd rent out and rent abroad then you haven't burnt your bridges if it doesn't work out, especially as you have no pension security, you can return easily. However, finding suitable rentals since Brexit is much harder than it was.
Earning a living without speaking the language won't be easy and you need to consider the residency, tax and other implications if you are running any sort of business. Getting residency in EU countries is now far more difficult if you don't have an EU passport. Lots of homework required.

Well I’ve done it and it’s far from boring. I taught people in their homes and workplaces and had so many interesting conversations and connections thanks to it and had deep insights into other cultures that few other jobs abroad would permit.

Of course lucrative is relative, the salaries for TEFL teachers in Vietnam are lucrative in relation to teaching salaries in other parts of the world yes.

And late 50s is relatively young in the context of older people moving abroad to retire and TEFL is a job older people can do and enjoy especially if they are physically fit and able.

For France you can apply for a 12-month visa - you will need to prove you have sufficient income to support yourself - currently €1,766.92 per month gross per individual/€3,500 gross per month for a couple. You will not be allowed to work during that year. You will need private health insurance. After 12 months you can apply for a 5-year titre de sejour. Then you can work and apply to join the French healthcare system (this will take months, you will need private health insurance until you're in the French system).

You will have to import your car (and pay approx. 32% of whatever the Douanes value it at when you get off the ferry), you cannot legally drive a UK registered car if you're resident in France.

And France isn't cheap - yes, property is still cheaper to buy than in the UK but everything else (food, cars, tradesmen, building materials, etc) is more expensive. Then there's the taxes (which I actually don't mind because I can actually see where our Mairie is spending our taxe fonciere).

I strongly recommend you take French lessons - living here and navigating French bureaucracy is, of course, do-able with very basic French language skills but difficult.

We made the move pre-Brexshit and I'd never consider moving back to the UK but not going to lie, the first couple of years were very, very hard.

@DramaLlamaBangBang People have all sorts of reasons for home exchanges in various places at various times of year

Well Brexit
My plan in retirement is to rent an apartment in Portugal for 8 weeks or so each winter.

Does anyone have info or experience with reliable agents/sites that offer long term lets in Southern Europe etc. the Winter season (up to three months say)? Thanks.

I mean, lots of negative comments (unsurprisingly for MN these days) but yeah, not unreasonable to think about moving away- every action starts with a vague thought!
I have started thinking about it, now kids are nearly grown, but not as a retired person ( many years away and my pension will be shit anyway) but as a worker in my current profession. My husband is an EU citizen so have looked into moving to his home country with him to get my citizenship.
I do think language is really the key- I speak 2 poorly so far, husband speaks 3 fluently, so when we are certain exactly where we would ultimately wind up (could be Italy, Portugal or Spain) that would be my hard focus.
There are LOADS of variables to think about, but I think it could be doable.
It sucks how much harder Brexit has made it for most people though.

DH and I talk about this a lot. We're off to France next week and will probably spend the week hatching plots to find a way to stay 😄So YANBU to be fed up with the UK at the moment.

However, the reality is that - unless we rejoin the EU in the next 10-15 years which I fear is unlikely - once retirement comes we will probably have to be content with a motorhome and making the most of the 90-day rule. I could see us packing up and heading off to southern Europe for three months in the winter (and then maybe a few weeks in the Far East Sept-Nov?)

The alternatives are just too complex and costly these days.

Come to Bulgaria!
You can buy a good sized house with land and outbuildings for peanuts compared to uk.
Beautiful beaches, forests mountains
Hot summers, cold snowy winters
Only 3 hours flight
Lingo is hard at first but you can get by on the basics and a lot of younger Bulgarians speak decent English which helps :)

I said that YABU because at your age, you are extremely unlikely to be welcomed anywhere abroad unless you are very wealthy.

Thanks, Brexit!

I have a villa in The Canaries ( Lanzarote) COL is high there too. I rent it out publicly.. close family I let use for free. Close friends I charge a small rent to cover cleaning etc.I only let friends use once a year.
But l wouldn't say anything is cheaper there than the UK.. Petrol used to be but not any more.
Food is the same.
Cleaning products/ loo rolls / toiletiers/ personal hygiene products are far more expensive..
Yes we can gaurentee better weather.. but lately that's not been as good as a good few years ago.
I don't know about working there personally but friends of ours that have moved out there don't get paid as much as in the UK .. unless you have your own tourist business..( successful restaurant or shop) but even loads of those are closing.

Yes, this is a good point. If global warming gets as bad as some fear, I'd rather be on a cool northern European island. I'm baffled by people who move to places like Australia. Surely Canada would be a safer option! No way would I emigrate somewhere hot. I'd also want to be somewhere small and isolated, where the migration crisis will least affect me. Because climate change could spark a huge migration of people from the hot areas to the cool, seriously de-stabilizing other countries in the process. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest birth rate in the world. In fact, their population is going to double. If the climate grows unbearably hot, that huge young population will migrate across the Mediterranean to places like Italy and Greece. Then again, even places like southern Italy, Greece and Spain could become uninhabitable.

YANBU, OP.
I sound like Chewbacca, but get where you come from.
As an immigrant I have lived here for 25 years,
currently planning to go back to Prague
where I was born.

No you're not unreasonable at all, if you can feasibly do it, why not? Even I am utterly sick of the wet and cold and am longing for sunshine and warmer days - this is coming from a person who usually hates the UK heat and nearly died that day we had 40°!!

It has been a long wet winter, so I'm sympathetic. But I hope you are wealthy because non-lucrative visas anywhere pleasant carry a hefty price. We're resigned to staying here, but with 90 day winter visits to warmer Mediterranean destinations while we are well and young enough to do so. There is, however, an elderly dog to take into account.

I thought PUMA came in for health insurance in France after 3 months legal residency.

https://aaro.org/health-insurance/special-note-for-residents-in-france

I thought PUMA came in for health insurance in France after 3 months legal residency.

To apply for a 12-month visa you have to prove that you have health insurance for the full validity of the visa.

Which reminds me OP, even when you're in the French healthcare system (either via an S1 or if you're employed and paying social charges) you also have to factor in private top up healthcare insurance.